Brand voice guidelines

It is important to integrate Libraries-specific brand guidelines alongside Purdue’s brand guidelines in your materials to maintain Libraries’ cohesive image and Libraries’ brand. For additional questions and more specific brand guidelines that are not included on this list, please refer to Purdue Brand Studio’s website.

Formal vs. informal names

Purdue Libraries should always be referred to as a singular, not plural, organization. Always refer to Libraries as “Libraries,” never “Library” or “the library,” etc., to talk about it as a whole and emphasize its multiple locations, rather than a singular location.

As a general rule of thumb, use the formal name of our organization, place, etc., prior to using its shortened, casual version in a piece of writing. The formal name is often found in the title/opening sentence of a piece, with the informal version used to refer to the organization in the remainder of the writing.

  • External use: Use “Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies” when referring to the organization external to Purdue in a formal context. 
  • Use “Libraries and School of Information Studies” when referring to the organization within Purdue in a formal context.
  • Use “Purdue Libraries” (more formal) or “Libraries” (more casual) when referring to the organization in an informal or casual context, or after the formal version is used in writing.

The formal name may be repeated in writing later as well as using the casual name, if desired.

Example:

  • Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies is pleased to recognize Dr. Donald R. Lynam, distinguished professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, with the 2024 Leadership in Open Access Award. The award is granted to nominees who have worked in collaboration with one or more repositories supported by Purdue Libraries, such as Purdue e-Pubs, Purdue University Research Repository (PURR), or Purdue e-Archives.

Certain libraries and libraries spaces are named and have formal and informal names as well:

  • “The Wilmeth Active Learning Center” is the formal name of “WALC.” The abbreviation should be in parentheses after the formal name the first time it is used in a piece of writing.
  • “The Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (HSSE) Library in Stewart Center” (formal) should be referred to as “The HSSE Library in Stewart Center” in casual contexts.

Examples:

  • The Wilmeth Active Learning Center (WALC) is the home of The Mullins Reading Room, a popular study location amongst students. Also, the Library of Engineering and Science in WALC offers students Libraries assistance and resources in the heart of campus.
  • The Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (HSSE) Library  in Stewart Center was refreshed during summer 2024 to better meet the needs of the Purdue community. The HSSE Library in Stewart Center now features new seating, natural lighting, and large whiteboards for students to use while studying. 

These spaces should not be referred to as “the WALC, HSSE,” etc. 

Examples (don’t do this):

  • The WALC is a popular, frequently-visited building on campus.
  • HSSE was recently refreshed and now offers a variety of new resources for students to use while studying.

Using sentence case vs. title case

Title case involves capitalizing the first letters of important words in a title, such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives, while sentence case involves capitalizing only the first letter of the first word in a sentence, along with any proper nouns. Title case capitalizes more words than sentence case when writing titles or headings. 

Use sentence case in titles of works to maintain consistency across Libraries materials. If the title contains a proper noun such as a name, award, the name of the organization, etc., leave those words capitalized and the remainder as sentence case.

Use title case sparingly—it should not be used for the main title of an article, but may be used selectively in subheadings in a longer piece of writing.

Examples:

  • Sentence case: Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies course contributes to student success post-graduation
  • Title case (don’t do this): Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies Course Contributes to Student Success Post-Graduation